Lower Greenville is trying to push past a sour patch, with street improvements and a calculated reshuffling of the retail, restaurant and bar mix to entice a more mature demographic.

Exhibit A in the renaissance, at least for one older tippler who’s steered clear of Lower Greenville in recent years, is the rebuilt and rejuvenated Terilli’s. Devastated by fire in March 2010, it reopened in September 2011 as a triple-decker fun palace that combines fresh flourishes — colors, fabrics and artwork by Chris Byrd — with the familiar — that wonderfully odd Frank X. Tolbert mural remains.

The rooftop terrace, festooned in lights and overlooking the traffic congealing on Greenville Avenue, bustles in the evenings. The imposing rectangular ground-floor bar is an even more inviting magnet. It’s a bar you can move around — a design devoutly to be wished but seldom accomplished at Dallas nightspots.

This drinker who made the acquaintance of Terilli’s in the early ’90s is reassured to see that the bartenders still shake martinis to icy perfection. Peruse the menu replete with curiosities — the Flirtini, Basil Lemonade Martini, Skinny Margarita Martini — or wave it aside and order the genuine article: gin, rinse of vermouth, twist.

There are some thirsty people out there. Organizers of the inaugural Dallas Whiskey and Fine Spirits Festival report that, even at $125 a pop, about 1,500 attended the celebration of firewater on Oct. 20 at the Addison Airport. This came four months after the first Craft Cocktails Texas festival spotlighted the mixology scene at the Stoneleigh Hotel.

The liquid arts: Balvenie 17 Year

Another day, another burr-voiced ambassador of booze: Lorne Cousin of the Balvenie scotch hit town in mid-October to promote the distillery’s new 17 Year Old DoubleWood. He was participating in a road show in which the scotch reps sidle up to perfection-seeking artisans at each stop. Furniture maker Timothy Oulton was the focus in Dallas.

At $125 a bottle, the 17 Year Old is the exalted sibling to the Balvenie’s popular, entry-level 12 Year Old DoubleWood. It’s matured in two types of cask — first American oak barrels, then European oak sherry casks for added depth and fullness. The connection to the 12 Year is apparent, but the creaminess and complexity do lift it into the stratosphere of single malts.

To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.

About MR. DALLAS

Jerry coordinates the newspaper’s coverage of the performing and visual arts. Since 1998 he’s also been writing a night-life column as Mr. Dallas for Guide and for the GuideLive Web site. You can go directly to his site at www.misterdallas.com.

Hometown: Little Rock, Ark.

Education: Jerry has a B.A. in journalism from University of Arkansas at Little Rock.